This is a random opinion post...

Atlanta like many US cities has a defining characteristic that Vancouver lacks - freeways.  Atlanta is home to the widest freeway in the whole Interstate system, the "Downtown Connector" which at current count is about 16 lanes wide.  Nathan and I have been known to discuss this sort of thing at length as Nathan is currently fighting a project to expand the Trans-Canada across the Port Mann bridge into Surrey and Langley.  Vancouver has already turned down several downtown freeway proposals.  Atlanta is a good example of what a city looks like when highway expansion is allowed to go ahead unabated. 

I am more of mixed opinion now that I have experienced this first hand.  Although traffic density here can be overwhelming, it is only so during peak hours.  During the daytime and on weekends it's not really THAT bad.  The highways are constructed so that they can handle the volume with the current widths.  It does make getting around an otherwise poorly designed city a lot easier. 

Granted, Atlanta has more problems that just freeways.  Grid layout seems to be something that is only heard of in fairy tales around here.  The streets are narrow and curved and lead no where.  It is even hard to find the freeway onramps sometimes.  I always get lost on the Buford highway thing.  So, as it stands now, the freeways do help people get around however the most ideal situation would be to blow up everything and start over again...

This city's heart and soul is very divided up.  It takes a long time for a visitor to get to know this place.  But now that I have been here a while I am starting to enjoy it a lot more.  Once you memorize your way through the labyrinth it doesn't seem so bad anymore.  There are some nice neighborhoods here and there is often very little reason to leave your little pod of suburbia, that is unless you need to go to work...